In 2016 we spent two days in a Stockland village capturing stories from residents.
Here are the memories of a remarkable lady who has lived all around the world.
I was born in South Africa in 1931. I met my husband but we weren’t allowed to get married until I was 18. I turned 18 in April and we got married the same month. After I had my daughter, we had a house burn down and I lost all of my photos. Fortunately the photographer from our wedding had a picture of me as a bride in his window as a showcase, and a few others from the wedding too. I asked him ‘can I please buy it’ and he let me.
We were given a radiogram as a wedding present. Ours was underneath a set of curtains. There was a short between the set and the wall, which caused the fire. My daughter woke up in the middle of the night and said she wanted water. When I brought her back to bed, I glanced at the wall and saw a light, which was a reflection from the fire. I thought the light reflection was strange as there were no lights outside. I could hear a slight noise too. Then I realised with shock and horror that the house was on fire.
We should have closed the door to stop the fire from spreading but we thought it was more important to call the fire brigade, so my husband’s back got badly burnt. I stood at the back door screaming my lungs out asking for help and the minister next door let us use his phone. By the time the fire brigade came it was too late. We lost everything except the night clothes we were wearing.
We’d always wanted to travel but we’d never done any until then. So we re-built the house then decided that now is the time to move to England. Since then we’ve lived in South Africa and Australia.
I still travel, every year at least. As to advice I’d give others – follow your instincts. If you want to travel, travel, as you can’t learn anything from books that you get by actually going to countries and visiting different people.